Antigenicity of the Mu (B.1.621) and A.2.5 SARS-CoV-2 Spikes
Debashree Chatterjee,
Alexandra Tauzin,
Annemarie Laumaea,
Shang Yu Gong,
Yuxia Bo,
Aurélie Guilbault,
Guillaume Goyette,
Catherine Bourassa,
Gabrielle Gendron-Lepage,
Halima Medjahed,
Jonathan Richard,
Sandrine Moreira,
Marceline Côté,
Andrés Finzi
Affiliations
Debashree Chatterjee
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
Alexandra Tauzin
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
Annemarie Laumaea
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
Shang Yu Gong
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
Yuxia Bo
Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, and Center for Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada
Aurélie Guilbault
Laboratoire de Santé Publique du Québec, Institut Nationale de Santé Publique du Québec, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3R5, Canada
Guillaume Goyette
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
Catherine Bourassa
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
Gabrielle Gendron-Lepage
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
Halima Medjahed
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
Jonathan Richard
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
Sandrine Moreira
Laboratoire de Santé Publique du Québec, Institut Nationale de Santé Publique du Québec, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3R5, Canada
Marceline Côté
Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, and Center for Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada
Andrés Finzi
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
The rapid emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants is fueling the recent waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we assessed ACE2 binding and antigenicity of Mu (B.1.621) and A.2.5 Spikes. Both these variants carry some mutations shared by other emerging variants. Some of the pivotal mutations such as N501Y and E484K in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) detected in B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta) and P.1 (Gamma) are now present within the Mu variant. Similarly, the L452R mutation of B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant is present in A.2.5. In this study, we observed that these Spike variants bound better to the ACE2 receptor in a temperature-dependent manner. Pseudoviral particles bearing the Spike of Mu were similarly neutralized by plasma from vaccinated individuals than those carrying the Beta (B.1.351) and Delta (B.1.617.2) Spikes. Altogether, our results indicate the importance of measuring critical parameters such as ACE2 interaction, plasma recognition and neutralization ability of each emerging variant.
